Toy acrobat



-J. KOWALSKl.

TOY AEROBAT. AYIPLICATION FILED NOV. 15, x920.

1,3 25 1 7, Patented June 21, 1921.

2 SHEETS-$HEET J. Kawa 4 16; iii.

INVENTOR Qfwaw /L ITNESS: A'ProRNEY J UZEF KOWALSKI, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

PATENT OFFICE.

TOY ACROBAT.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Ju 21 1921 Application filed November 15, 1920. Serial No. 424,202.

T 0 all w from it may concern Be it known that I, JUZEF KOWALSKI, a citizen of Poland, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigan, have invented new and useful Improvements in Toy Acrobats, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention has reference to toys.- Y

The improvement is in the nature of a toy gymnast in which the puppet consists of a body and limbs loosely hinged together and suspended by cords in such a manner in an elastic frame so that by varying the strain on the cords the puppet is caused to gyrate.

In the present instance, the frame of the device is made to represent a trapeze, the

a puppet normally seated on a brace between the arms of the frame, the cord connecting the arms of the puppet to the outer ends of the frame being twisted and connected to the said arms in a manner whereby the puppet will be gyrated by an inward pressure on the lower ends of the said sides of the frame and a release of said pressure, or the said puppet will be held in any desired position with respect to the frame by a sudden pressure exerted upon the lower members of the said frame or the puppet, by releasing the pressure on the frame is permitted to assume its normal position as if seated on the cross bar of the frame which represents the seat of the trapeze.

The drawings illustrate a simple and satisfactory embodiment of the improvement, and in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of the toy.

Fig. 2 is a view showing the sides of a frame having the lower portions compressed toward each other for holding the figure at various angles with respect to the frame.

Fig. 3 is an end view of'the device illustrated in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view approximately on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the upper portion of the toy showing the manner in which the cord is connected to the sides of the frame and to-the arms of the puppet.

The frame of my improved toy includes two bars 11 that form the side members of the frame. The bars 1, nearer the top or outer end than the inner end thereof have each a rectangular opening 2 therethrough. Through these openings pass reduced ends or tongues 3 that extend centrally from the cross bar 4. The shoulders at the juncture of the tongues with the cross bar have their upper ends rounded, as at 5. The side bars 1, ad acent to the top or outer end. of the frame have, three spaced round openings, 6 respectively therethrough. Trained through theouter' pair of openings omone ofthe side bars are the strands of a cord 7. These strands are arranged at opposite angles so one of the said strands, indicated for distinction by the numeral 8, will pass through an eye 9 provided in a. depression In the hand portion 10 of one of the arms 11 of the figure or puppet 12. The strand is then directed through a round opening 13 1n the second arm 14 of the figure which is arranged below the eye 15 in the concaved hand portion of the said arm, and is from thence passed through the upper opening 6 in the second side member of the frame. The second strand, indicated for distinction by the numeral 16 passes through an opening 17 in the first mentioned arm, and is continued at an angle with respect to the strand 8 and passes through the eye 15 in I the second arm 14 of the figure, and is from thence directed to the lowermost opening 6 in the second side member or bar l'of the frame. The strands may be then passed through the intermediate opening in the said second side member or bar of the frame and knotted or otherwise connected. The body 18 of the puppet or figure is of a greater weight than the limbs thereof. The

upper portion of' the leg members of the figure, indicated by the numeral 19, are pivotally connected to the said figure, and the lower portions 20 of the said legs are pivotally connected to the upper portions 19, as indicated by the numeral 21. The legs, at the knee or pivoted portions thereof are cut at opposite angles.

The body and arms of the puppet are of a length to permit of the puppet being normally'se'ated on the cross bar. An inward pressure upon the lower or handle portions of the bars 1 will draw the cord or flexible element tight,'and incident to the manner in which it is twisted around the arms and loosely secured to the said arms of the fi ure will cause the arms to be turned on the frame. A decided pressure, when the figure is gyrated, upon the handle portions, will so draw the cord that the figure may be retained at any desired position on the frame.

A releaseof said pressure will cause the figure to again assume 1ts normalseated position on the cross bar of the frame. As the figure is gyrated, or turned around, the cord a great number of the strands between the arms and one of the side frames of the cord.

will be twisted upon themselves, thus materially facilitating the gyration of the puppet what I claim, is

In a device of theclass described, a frame comprlsmg slde bars having a plurality of transverse, openings ad acent to one end 7 thereof and having rectangular openings near the center thereof, a transverse bar having its ends reduced to provide tongues which pass through the last mentioned openings, and the shoulders between the tongues and the transverse bar having their corners rounded, a figure comprising pivotally connected members including a body, legs and arms, the body being weightier than the legs and arms, the arms having their hand portions concaved and provided with eyes and having transverse openings inward of the eyes, a cord threaded through two of the openings in one of the sides of the frame, its strands arranged angularly to pass through the eye and through the opening in the arm of the figure next to the said side of the frame, and strands of the cord between the arms being crossed directed through the eye and through the opening in the second arm of the figure, andbeing again crossed and directed through the two of the openings in the second side member of the frame, and from thence passed through the remalnmg opening in the said side member of the frame from opposite directions and having their ends tied, and the combined length of the body and arms of the figure being such as to permit of the figure normally resting on the cross bar of the frame.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JUZEF KOWALSKI. 

